Chapter 43: I’m Tak-ju falls, Han seong-gil runs wild.

• Taaang!
  Using the Last Bullet skill, which consumes all the bullets in the magazine, Lee Hyun-seung inflicts explosive damage in an instant. The reason he is able to use this skill is because the weapon he’s holding includes the “Mana” stat.

===

[Epic] Worn-Out Pistol

▶ A worn-out pistol with no special features.

▶ It has a total of 15 bullets loaded.

▶ It raises the Mana stat by 3.

Items that support Mana usage, allowing even those without a Mana stat to use skills, are typically expensive despite

having no special features. If it weren’t for Jeong Eun-seo’s help, he would never have obtained such a weapon.

• Swoooosh~!
  Watching the bullets flying at an incredible speed, Lee Hyun-seung couldn’t help but admire it once again.
  “Definitely, using skills has much more power than regular attacks.”

Thanks to the passive effect of the legendary Gunslinger, even regular attacks dealt additional damage, showing

considerable power, but the skill’s power was on a whole different level.

“C-grade skill and it’s already this strong… If I could use a B or A-grade skill, it would be insane.”

Just as he was thinking this,

Im Tak-joo, after confirming the bullet-firing motion, hurriedly pulled out something resembling a knuckle from

behind him, slipping it onto his fist and raising his hand. Thanks to this, despite the tremendous speed of the bullet,

he managed to block it directly with his knuckles.

“I… blocked it.”

Im Tak-joo thought he had stopped the attack. His knuckles weren’t low-grade weapons either. Furthermore, he had

strengthened them with Mana to improve their durability. Even though Lee Hyun-seung’s gun had incredible power,

he thought that, having blocked it head-on, he might have been able to stop it.

But that thought was shattered in an instant.

• Kwah-aaaang!
  The bullet pierced through the knuckle as if it were nothing. The bullet that passed through the knuckle continued on its path toward Im Tak-joo’s hand.
  Fwoosh!
  Hooowww~!

Before he could even think about it, Im Tak-joo instinctively drew all the Mana into his hand. This was his survival

instinct. If the bullet had pierced all the way through and reached his chest, it would have meant instant death. So,

he began pulling all the Mana from his body into one point to prevent it.

• Hooowww~…
• Fwooooosh!
• Cha-aack-!
  But to his dismay, the Mana failed to block the bullet entirely. The bullet passed through his knuckles, continuing straight through his fist and breaking the trajectory, going straight through the ceiling.
  “Graaaaah~! Graaaaahhh…”
  Im Tak-joo was alive, but before he could even think of being thankful, a tremendous pain flooded through his hand where the bullet had pierced.
• Drip drip
  Blood dripped from his hand, and he started to lose consciousness as his vision began to fade. The extreme pain triggered a shock response in his body.
  If the shock became too severe, it could lead to death. Watching him foaming at the mouth, Lee Hyun-seung thought,
  “My mistake. I miscalculated the power.”

It was only a C-grade skill. He had intentionally given a window of time to allow for a counter-response when the

bullet was fired. So, he had thought that a fighter in the B-class would be able to survive this skill with ease, but it

turned out he was wrong.

• Paarrr….
  Im Tak-joo collapsed to the ground, bleeding profusely.
  Looking at this sight, Han Seong-gil couldn’t help but shiver.
  “Am I… scared?”

He had never been afraid of anyone. He had always acted according to his principles, taking whatever he wanted.

When a strong person appeared, he felt the urge to fight them, and when someone challenged him, he would take

brutal revenge.

He was a true predator in the law of the jungle. A lion or a tiger, never afraid of being hunted by others. He had

always been the one chasing.

Even the terrifying Artemis Guild leader’s daughter, Yoo Hee-yeon, he had never feared. He knew the power of the

Artemis Guild better than anyone, but Hee-yeon hadn’t been in many direct battles at the academy.

So, he foolishly thought that he was the one in control.

“Move. Move. Move.”

• Brrr~
  Normally, he would’ve rushed at Lee Hyun-seung to challenge him to a fight, proudly showing his strength to confirm his superiority. But now, he was frozen, unable to move, as his entire body seemed locked in place.
  “It doesn’t make sense…”

Im Tak-joo, despite being a lackey, was far from weak. A rare-class fighter, his physical abilities were on par with or

even superior to many swordsmen.

In close combat, he should have been far superior to a gunslinger like Lee Hyun-seung.

“How… how is this happening?”

Yet, Lee Hyun-seung, despite being a gunslinger, had completely read Im Tak-joo’s movements in close combat. It

was as if he knew the pattern already, making it seem easy and effortless. Even after creating distance, Lee Hyun-

seung’s skill tore through the mana shield that Im Tak-joo had gathered with full effort.

“A monster…”

He had finally met his match. Han Seong-gil, who had always considered himself a king in his own little world, now

realized he was nothing more than a frog in a well.

• Swiick.

After acknowledging it himself, he barely managed to lift his foot off the ground.

• Swoosh
• Thud
• Swoosh
• Thud
  Unknowingly, he took steps one by one and walked towards Lee Hyun-seung.
• Thud
  Soon, he stood in front of Lee Hyun-seung.
  Lee Hyun-seung looked at Han Seong-gil with a slightly irritated expression and spoke.
  “What? You want to get hit too?”
  If anyone else had said that, he would have immediately thrown a punch. However, the words from Lee Hyun-seung didn’t feel unpleasant.
• Swoosh
  Han Seong-gil looked around. All the spotlights around were focused on Lee Hyun-seung, as if the inside of Class F had been set up like a filming set just for him. Everyone was staring at Lee Hyun-seung. Despite being treated as a supporting character, Han Seong-gil didn’t feel upset.
• Gulp
  As he calmly observed the situation, his fear faded, gradually transforming into excitement.
  How strong could this man be? No, what kind of life has he lived?
  He wasn’t just strong. Even after nearly killing someone, he showed no fear. There was no hesitation when drawing a gun, and when taking revenge, he acted decisively. He wasn’t some lucky fool who gained power. He was someone born with natural strength. Han Seong-gil instantly recognized that Lee Hyun-seung was like him.
• Thump
• Thump
  The first time meeting someone like him. At some point, his heart began to race. Adrenaline surged, and soon, all his fear vanished, replaced only by pleasure.
  “You… seem strong. Let’s fight sometime.”
• Swoosh
  Han Seong-gil’s eyes were gradually turning red.

Broad Academy, President’s Office.

Choi I-seul murmured to herself while organizing some documents.

“Han Seong-gil… He’s become the representative of Class B, as expected.”

The secretary, Cha Im-ho, responded from the side.

“Yes, many people hoped to be the representative, but he was selected without a selection competition, by an

overwhelming margin of votes.”

“Well… It’s only natural. In the annihilation battle, strength is the most important factor, so it makes sense to choose

a strong person as the representative. Han Seong-gil, that student, definitely has the strength to be the

representative of Class B. If it weren’t for his limitations, he could have even performed in Class A.”

“Limitations?”

Cha Im-ho asked curiously, and Choi I-seul answered.

“Yes. It’s not widely known, but Han Seong-gil was born with the traits of a Berserker. He has an overwhelming

sense of challenge against strong opponents, and his fighting ability grows stronger the more he fights.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? A sense of challenge overcomes human laziness, and the fact that he gets stronger as he

fights means he can grow every day.”

“Hmm… Well, it might have been good if that were the only thing, but the problem is that he can’t control it.”

“Control?”

“Yes.”

Choi I-seul conjured a small water droplet with her magic.

“The Berserker trait sometimes causes the user to lose their rationality. When faced with the threat of death, instead

of fear, they release excessive dopamine and adrenaline. Eventually, they reach a point where they can’t tell friend

from foe.”

The water droplet she created swayed here and there before suddenly bursting.

“At that moment, they gain immense strength, but in the end, they break down, like this water droplet. That’s why

Han Seong-gil remains in Class B rather than Class A. He can’t control his power, so he can’t make it to Class A.”

“Then… isn’t that dangerous? Shouldn’t he be managed separately from the other students?”

“It is dangerous, but there shouldn’t be a problem. After all, there are not many students who could make him feel

threatened with death. Also, when he goes berserk, the artifact lights up red.”

Shin Yoo-ra spoke while looking at the artifact.

“I’m always monitoring this artifact…”

At that moment.

• Whooosh!
  As Choi I-seul spoke, a red light signaling the activation of Han Seong-gil’s Berserker trait clearly appeared in the artifact.
• Kwoooosh!
  Choi I-seul urgently stood up from her chair and shouted at Cha Im-ho.
  “Gather all the instructors right now!”
  Cha Im-ho, looking surprised, looked around and asked.
  “Why… Why, Madam President?”
  “Han Seong-gil’s Berserker trait has activated. We need to stop it. Once it activates fully, no student can stop it!”
  She shouted in a desperate voice.
  “If we’re even a little late… someone might die.”